Viking Baldur: 28 departures, and the question of season
Measured on 25 August 2026: 28 departures, of which 9 from Budapest to Amsterdam and 7 from Amsterdam to Budapest. Hers is the thinnest calendar among the seven ships we sell on the long routes.
When a river season begins and ends
Unlike the Caribbean, where sailing runs twelve months a year, European river cruising has a genuine dead season. It comes down to cold, water levels and demand, in that order.
Departures generally resume in March, build through April to June, peak in attendance in July and August, ease pleasantly in September and October, then concentrate in November and December on the Christmas markets. In January and February almost nothing remains.
What each window gives you
In figures: Budapest goes from about 16 hours of useful daylight in late June to under 9 hours in late December, and from an average of 27 degrees in July to 3 in January. Those two gaps shape the trip more than the choice of ship does.
Spring gives the Dutch tulips and cities still empty, but uncertain weather and sometimes high water. Summer gives warmth, long evenings and crowded quays — at Melk or Dürnstein three ships can lie alongside each other on the same day. Autumn gives the harvest, a lower light and fewer people. December gives the Christmas markets, four hours of useful daylight, and real cold.
If nobody is imposing your dates, May and late September remain the best compromise between weather, crowds and the stability of river levels.
The hull, in figures
Length 135 metres, capacity 190 guests, crew 53, 95 staterooms split into 25 Standard, 22 French Balcony, 39 Veranda, 7 Veranda Suites and 2 Explorer Suites. The length is not a choice: it is what the locks accept.
The crew ratio, 3.58 guests per crew member, belongs to this class alone. On the Nile, the same company falls to 1.71.
Viking Gefjon offers 76 departures on these routes, and Viking Mimir 37.
Baldur, the death of the best-loved
Baldur dreams of his own death. His mother Frigg then makes every thing in the world swear to do him no harm, and overlooks a single plant, judged too young: the mistletoe. The gods amuse themselves throwing missiles that bounce off him, until Loki slips a mistletoe branch to a blind god.
Hel agrees to give him back if everything in existence weeps for him. Everything does, except one giantess. He stays among the dead, and his loss announces Ragnarök.
Getting there from Montreal
Amsterdam on a direct flight, Budapest on a connection. Viking Vidar covers the same kind of route with 59 departures.
Booking from Quebec
From a Quebec address, Viking's reservations site does not answer: it redirects to a page inviting travellers to contact an agent. On this line the agency is not a convenience, it is the route. You can check that yourself in thirty seconds.
Our Viking River Cruises advisors confirm in writing the exact fare, what is included, what is not, and the applicable conditions before any booking, in line with Quebec consumer protection rules and participation in the compensation fund for travel agency customers.
